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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22670026">Stay</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikaya/pseuds/Nikaya'>Nikaya</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Following My Heart [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akuma Attack, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, F/M, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 16:55:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>664</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22670026</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikaya/pseuds/Nikaya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Chat Noir fights an akuma and gets injured. Marinette is the one to patch him up. Based on austalet's fanart!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Following My Heart [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1306157</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>121</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stay</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Based on this by <a href="https://australet789.tumblr.com/post/173473479970/marichat-may-day-1-you-are-injured-please-stay">Australet</a>!</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette had seen the fall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From stories up, Chat Noir had kept the fight on to allow Ladybug to finish the Miraculous Cure. It was at the moment that the Cure completed when she watched her partner fall out of the sky in horror.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Already out of magic, Ladybug ran to Chat’s broken body and could do nothing but wait with him while Tikki recharges, </span>
  <em>
    <span>again.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The fight had been particularly bad, and Tikki would be nowhere near recovered soon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So that was how Marinette ended up on her balcony, detransformed with Chat Noir, mangled and bloodied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“M-Marinette….” His head was spinning both from the fall and the realization of who was in front of him. Tears cut through the blood and grime on his face. “I’m… I’m so happy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sputtered. “You knew?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No… I… I mean that I’m glad… that you’re my Bugaboo.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>More of her tears spilled over her cheeks as she cradled him closer, not caring for the blooming stains on her clothes. “Oh Chaton…. It’s me. I’m your Lady.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiled - though wincing from the pain of his black eye - as his tail curled around her feet. He could only raise one arm to put on her back, his only way to comfort her in return. “Did I do good?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” she said, her voice watery and cracking, “you did, Chaton.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I n-need to patch you up,” she said, carefully. She leaned back to assess the damage. Black eye, a deep cut on the forehead, possible broken arm, maybe a shoulder, a stab wound in his ribs… and that was just from an average perspective.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t st-tay.” His voice was hoarse with exhaustion now. “My father….”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t need to finish the sentence because whoever Chat Noir’s father was, he would have to wait for her to heal his son, and she knew he was likely going to collapse at any moment. “Please, you’re injured. Just for tonight, stay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette could see distress cross his features for just an instant before it passed. He smiled against her embrace. “Okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette visibly relaxed as she tried to help him up and get into her room. She grabbed his staff and extended it for him as a crutch at least to the stairs. She carefully lowered him - albeit with some grunting through the pain - down to the bed. His body eased at last as he took some shallow breaths.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Marinette,” he said, trying to pull her back to him but could only gently touch her wrist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turned back to him, “Kitty?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He squeezed her hand. “It’s me,” he said, his eyes slipping shut. Before she could ask what that meant, his transformation began to drop, revealing his true identity at last. He opened his eyes, squinting through the blood. “It’s Adrien.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If this were any other situation in which Adrien Agreste were in Marinette’s bedroom, laying in her bed, whilst she was in her pajamas, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>might </span>
  </em>
  <span>have fainted. But it wasn’t just a silly crush anymore. This was her partner, her </span>
  <em>
    <span>Chaton</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that needed her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her mouth parted for a moment, forgetting the bandages as her heart leapt up into her throat. “Adrien…” she whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Mari. I… I wanted to know who you were for so long…. I didn’t realize… I’d pushed you away… I….” His tears welled up in his eyes again and threatened to spill over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shhh,” she said, curling up beside him and gently pulling him into her lap. “Rest now. You’re safe, and there’s nothing to be sorry for.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm…” he said, no longer fighting for consciousness. She was right; he was safe, and he could rest. “I saved my beautiful Lady. My Ladybug. My… Marinette.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though she was well aware that he could likely no longer hear nor see her, her face reddened but softened at his words. She pressed a kiss to his head. “My Chaton.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Thanks for reading! Find my socials <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/17953571/chapters/linktr.ee/TrainerNick">here</a>!</p>
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